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Ocilla, Georgia
Ocilla is a city in and the county seat of Irwin County, Georgia. The population of the city is 3,414. Demographics As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the city is: 65.82% Black or African American (2,247) 30.73% White (1,049) 3.46% Other (118) 35.3% (1,205) of Ocilla residents live below the poverty line. Theft rate statistics Ocilla has average rates of Pokemon theft and murder. The city reported 6 Pokemon thefts in 2018, and averages 1.20 murders a year. Pokemon See the Irwin County page for more info. Fun facts * In the 1980s and 1990s Marie Watson was known in Ocilla as the "Christmas Lady." Watson would intricately decorate the property around her home on Cherry Street with lights and Christmas decorations and each year "Santa Claus" would visit the property, taking wishes for gifts from children. Watson became famous for her Christmas cheer but eventually stopped due to the hassle of decorating and because of her older age. Today, her tradition is somewhat carried on every year as the City of Ocilla now decorates Cumbee Park, the public park directly in front of Watson's former home, and holds a yearly session with Santa Claus. * On March 25, 1911, the southbound Dixie Flyer running from Chicago, Illinois to Jacksonville, Florida crashed through a trestle over the Alapaha River, only a short distance from Ocilla. The wreck was found to have been caused by the engine driving wheel axle breaking off. The baggage and express cars, as well as two day coaches, were flung into the water, a steel-construction first class coach car was forced through the sleeper car, the engine stayed on the trestle, and the tender was derailed. Ten people perished as a result, and the line was shut down for 36 hours for all trains. The disaster is considered one of the region's worst train wrecks in history. * Beginning in 1961, the Annual Sweet Potato Festival has been held in Ocilla, currently on the last Saturday in October. * Ocilla is the birthplace of Dave Prater from the duo Sam & Dave. * On the outskirts of town, Ocilla once hosted the New Veterans Memorial Track (commonly known as the Ocilla Raceway) which was a 3/8 mile layout racing track. It was inaugurated on April 23, 1950. Governor Herman Talmadge was scheduled to attend but was unavailable and the former Governor M.E. Thompson appeared instead. On opening day 2,500 people watched the first program featuring five separate races. James Bennett of Macon, Georgia won the 20-lap featured race and Lucy Stacks of Fitzgerald won the women's race. VFW would eventually take over the track after the original owner, Marion "Buddy" Green, decided that its liabilities were too great. The races eventually began to run from January to December and hosted drivers from as far away as Atlanta and Northern Florida, as well as some local drivers. It was eventually shut down and the track survives in severe disrepair. * Ocilla doesn't have much to offer. It has dollar stores, a sports complex, a few public battle fields, a little bit of local restaurants and businesses, a landing strip, Piggly Wiggly, a country club, Subway, and not much else. Category:Georgia Cities